Plant setter



Jan. 31, 1928. 1,657,944

E. A. STOCKER ET AL PLANT SETTER Filed Oct. 30. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Jan. 31, 1928. 1,657,944

E. A. STOCKER ET AL PLANT SETTER Filed Oct. 50. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 REP William. S. 5 \I U EKE l" gl mwou ELLE-5 A 51 Jan. 31, 1928. 1,657,944

E. A. STOCKER ET AL PLANT SETTER Filed Oct. 30. 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Patented Jan. 31, i928.

STATES htliZtl l-t PATENT l 'lfihi.

ELLEY A. STOUKER AND WILLIAM S. STOCKER, F MILLION, KENTUCKY.

PLANT SETTER.

Application filed October 30 the plant steady, and placing the soil. about' the roots of the plant in a proper relation.

A further object of this invention 1s the provision of an improved plant setting machine, in part embodying means to water the.

plant as the same is being planted.

A further objectof this invention the provision of novel means for mechanically and quiclny setting and planting a plurality of plants in rows.

at further object of' this invention is the provision of an improved plant setter embodyingnovel means for setting the plants and the firm placement of the soil about the roots thereof.

Other objects and advantages of this invention will be apparent during the course of the following detailed description.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and wherein similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several. views,

Figure 1 is a side elevation, partly in section. of the improved plant setter.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the improved plant setter showing certain details removed to better illustrate other details.

Figures 3 and t are sectional views taken substantially on their respective lines in Figure 1 of thedrawings.

liigre 5 is a. sectional view taken substantially on the line 5-5' of Figure 3 of the drawings.

Figure 6 is a sectional view talten suhstair on the line 6-6 of Figu re 5. ure T is a fragmentary View, partly in section. showin details of the means to water the plants as they are being set.

lliguret-l is a view illustrating details for operating awater pump for watering the plants as they are being set.

l igare 9 is a sectional view taken substantially onthe line 99 ofl igure 1.

Figure 10 is afragmentary side elevation of details of the improved plant setter, showing the position of the details for the stabilizing of a plant during that period when the 1926. Serial no. 145,197.

soil is being firmly pushed down about the roots of the plant. Figure 11 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1l--11 of Figure 10.

Figure 12 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 1212 of Figure 10.

l igure 13 is a fragmentary plan view showing certain operating details of the in vontion.

Figure 14: is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 14-44 of Figure 5. V

Figure 15 is a perspective view of a cam ring on which the hinged closures for releasing the plants operate.

.rality of plants to a chute F which cooperates with the plow D in the setting of the plants. luleans G is provided for watering the plants as they are being set.

Referring to the running gear B, the same preferably comprises a stationary supporting axle 20, upon the ends of which suitable spindles are provided for rotatably receiv-. ing running wheels 21 and 22, which may be provided with suitable cleats or projections 23 thereon of any nature desired, for supporting the plant setter upon hillsides, and in like places, against sliding movement.

Referring to the frame C, the same preferably comprises a main beam 25, diagonally sloping forward and downward, swivelly connected at 26 to the axle intermediate the ends of the latter. At its forward end the beam is rigidly connected to the plow blade 27, which is probably best illustrated in Figure 9 of the drawings, as being of T- shaped formation, including a top horizontal blade 28 and a furrow providing vertical blade 29 which penetrates the ground and provides the groove in which the plants are dropped, and as will be subsequently described. i

The frame C furthermore includes spaced rearwardly dive ing handles 29 and 30,

which converge forwardly and are connectwill 36. inthis manner the handles 29 and 30 are rigidly connected with the main beam friction bearing 42 niou to the cam ring or member 53 the location otthe cut away portion or i 25 and with the plowblade 2'7, and as is obvious from the drawings.

'isproyided witha plurality oi openings ll there-through. The said rotary plate ll) is in disc form and supported upon an antisupporting platens, Wl. may be carried by races attached to the handles 29 and 30, or held stationary by brace a1 is 52 attached as illustrated in Figures l and 5 oi' the drawings. This disc orplate lOis. horizontally disposed upon the thrust bearing 42, and on the top surface thereof are a plurality of vertically positioned cups- 56 arranged in an annular relation upon the disc and the compartments 48 of which are opened upwa dly and open downwardly to theopening's ll.

For each of the plant receiving cups and openingsill. therefor a liltI- door or id 50 is provided, each oi the same being hingedly connected. at 51 radially upon the plate a0, and so that tie said trap lids or doors may swing downwardly to expose the openings all for permitting the plants to drop downwardly thro h the openings l-l into the dispensingtube or chute 13 l As. to the control of the trap doors or lids enclosures 5Q, a cam ring 53 is supported on the handles 29 and 30 by arms. or buckets 54, in spaced relation and parallel below the plate d0. This cam ring 53 is segmental in form having anopening 56 therein to accommodate the movable chute F. The cam 53 is supported below the closures 50, so that rub lugs on the bottoms of the closures 50 will rub on the top surface or the cam 53 during the rotation of the dispensing plate 40, but as said closure lids 50 more to cess 56, the free ends of said closure plates are released, permitting the said closure lids to drop by gravity to expose the plate openings ll thereover, and permit the dropping o f the plants thru the chute, as illustrated in lligure 1 of the drawings.

The rub lugs of the closures 50 travel on top of the ring duri their, rotutiom and are adapted to cooperate on a. cam end Gil. of the ring, which extendsinto the upper nted upon a suitable.

emar end of chute F to receive rub lugs thereagainst as the plate l0 is rotaterb to close the trap lids 50 immediately alter they have opened; this closing operation being effected in the upper end of the chute F. or immediately thcreabove, after the plant has been dropped into the chute i and the cum end 61 so closing the top lids that the rub lugs may then ride onto the cum ring 53 to hold the same closed during a complete rotation thereof and during which time the operator may place the plants in the lilttfllliii'lLH or cups l? from the opposite sides of the plant setter device it, in any appiovcd relation. Referring to the sir-nensieui chute if, the san'ie is in il e term of h l'ruslum ol a cone, and of tubu ar l'orn'iatron havin; a passageway {53 thciethrough which is of larger diameter at the top of the tube chute and oi? smallest diameter at the bottom thcrcol'. lhe said chute F is hingcdly suspended from the handles E29" and 250 by suitable means (ll, as illustr ted in ,igguucs l, 10 and 11 of the drzwings, so that the chute l 111a swing from a vertical position rearwardly for a purpose 'hich. will be subsequently mentioned. The passageway till aligns with the cut away portion or opening Ill) ol the cam ring 523, and so that as the closures 50 move into the space directly above the passagewvay (33 they will be released lroui their closed position on the am 53 and drop by gravity to open the cups l7. in turn. lo the dispensing chute F, through the respective openings all, so that the plants uay drop into the chute and be deposited at the lower end thereof in the turrow formed by tlu: plow D immediately rearwardly oi" the latter. Of course the roots of the plants will be lowermost and will drop into the :lurrow The dispensin a chute l? is nornuil ur; cd and maintained in a vertical position by means of a tension sl lllnlig Tl). connected at one end to the upper end oi the chute l diametrically opposite from the binned iuountin oi? said chute; said s ring at its opposite end be i connected to a suitable connection 71. mounted on the top ol. one of the standards or uprights 33.]. as illustrated in r lies 1 and ll) of the drawings Referring to the u'i zlru; lor 'otutimg the plant supportiu disc or plate ll) in order to successively d .apense the plants From the cups L7, it to be noted that a ratchet wheel or toothed member (:2 moulded on ie rotary spindle -ltl to which the disc or date 4:0 is k U at The number ol' teeth on his wheel '72 equal to the number i t disr. isinp; openings ll. in the plate 4.0.

Referring now to the means lior operation upon the ratchet wheel 7:15. a shall T5 rotatably supported by brackets '76 and having;' a gear 77 rotatable thereon, which 'F, the doors '115and 116 will be swung open the dra the water to enter the cylinder conipartnien to receive the plant after the same has been set. It is preferred that the hinges 118 which niount said doors are of the spring type of hinge, to automatically close the doors w n the chute F brought to its normal vertical position.

Means is provided for ejecting); a

p quantity of water into the furrow at the roots of the 3 plants as theyare being set just prior to the compressing of the soil about the roots of the plants. This means conten'iplates the provisio: of a water container 120 mounted n the suitable frame 121 carried by the axle 20 thcrcaboie. 'flcfcrrinp; to Figure 7 of I viii-gs a cviinder is supported by a suitable bracket 12% on the frame shaft 2: innnediately above the plow l lade 27. The cylind 12S lower forward end is provided with an openin "L 5 whicu opens into a nozzle 125; a check alvo 126 being provided in this nozzle 1253 adjacent the opening 12 to permit the loot-ion of water from the cylinder coing iartment 128, but preny return ilov; of thud -nto the t H; tic la venting a cylinder fr in the nozzle 1;.

he water container 120 is connnunic itcd with the cylinder conipartmeiu; -28 by in of a pr-eferably flexible hose 1230 which i from the lower portion of the coriitainer as at 181, to the forward part'of the c; indcr 128. In the coupling; at the cylinder 123 to which the hose 130 is connected is provided a check valve 138 which perinis t 128 but will prevent any back flow of the fluid into the hose 130.

A piston operates in the cylinder coinpartnient 128 and to it is connected a piston rod 136, which at the rear end thereof-is 'swivell v connected at 181' to a connecting rod 138- which extends forwardly and upwardly and which at its upper end is slidably mounted in any approved manner on a suitable bracket- 14-0'prcferably carried by the stationary axle 20, and which bracketl lO is best illustrated in Figure 8 of the drawings. The slidable square end 14-1 of ho shaft or connecting; rod 138 prevents the mention of the latter; is is I trated in Figure 7 a tension spring 1 1:3 normally urgesthe piston 135 forwardly into the cylinder compartment 128 for the pin-pose of ejecting; a supply of liquid which has entered the cylinder this sprino 1:15 at one end being connect-ed at 14:? to the cylinder and at its opposite end 1 18 to a bracket which is carried by the slidable connecting shalt or rod 138. On this squared end 142-1 the forwarc end of said connectin 0d 138 is provided a laterally extending nger which is in the path to be engaged by laterally extending fingers 152 and 153 which are mounted upon a disc 15 1; the slid disc 15% being inounted on the driven shaft 75 150 and force the shaft forwardl k: .arran c gement of parts may be mad porting above mentioned, and the pins 152 and 153 the pin for the purpose of moving the piston 135' to open the cylinder 12S and draw in a supply of wat r from the water container 120, as is perfectly apparent.

From the forc 'oing description of this invention it is apparent that a novel plant setter has been provided, which will repib larly and mechanically food plants from a distributor into a dispensing chute, where the same will be clliciently dropped into a prepared fu rovvand inunediatcly watered and firmlypacked at the roots thereof. in the soil. The various operations of the machine are synchrmious.

'ifhc inuirovcd iuua-l may be propelled bf. manual draft anunah or motive power.

111 the prcierred instance the srmc w ll he 8, and intended to engage against providtd ith suitable draft rom A: con- 1 12d \ri h the EltillTlOllill'l axle 20, to which a single horse or draft animal may lie hitched, although such draft rear K may be dispensed with and other 111021111 provided for propelling the in'iprovcd plant setter A, will In r adily apparent to anyone skilled The plants may be fed into he un chine by a person walking; along the idc thereof, who deposits them into the cups -17, :u'idthe machine may he hand. regulated at its rear end to control the travel thereoyerthe ground :lUCOlLlllll' to the nature of the soil encountered and the quality thereof.

,Various changes in the shape .vizcn and 1 to the form of invention herein shown t. d doscribech without departing: from the spirit v ofthe same or the scope of the claims.

We claim:

'1. In a plant setting machine the combination of a supporting frame running; gear for the supporting frame means for supporting and dispensing; plants from the frame a guide chute,v moans hiu i'cdly wounccting the guide chute so that the plants are rcceivcdcas the arc dispensed h the above mentioned means, means carried by the fran'ie for pr vidiug g an opening in the earth into which the guide chute uida the plants, roots foremost, means operable by the running gear for nioviiui; the chute at itslower end rear va 'dly as the frame moves forwardly to steady the plant after it has been placed in the earth opening, and means for incl-ring the earth in the opening about the roots of the plant as the plant is being;- so steadied.

2. In a plant setting machine the combination asupporting frame, running}; gear for the supporting franm, means for dupand dispensing plants from the ill?) frame, a guide chute, means hingedly connecting the guide chute so that the plants are received as they are dispensed by the above mentioned means, means carried by the frame for n'ovidingan opening in the earth into which the guide chnte guides the plants, roots foremost, means operable by the running gear for moving the chute at its lower end rearwardly as the frame moves "for vai'dly to steady the plant after it has been laced in the earth opening, means tor packing the earth in the opening about the roots oi the plant as the plant is being so steadicifl, said chute having doors thereon at the lower end thereof and at the rear side thereof, and means carried by the :trame for operating said doors after the plant has been planted and the steadying operation of said chute is at an end.

3. In a plant setter the combination ot a supporting frame, running gear for the E" in supporting frame, means for supporting and dispensing plants from the supporting frame, means carried by the supporting flllllk} for providing an openin in the earth, a guide chute hingedly carried by said frame into which the plants are dispensed, roots torelnost into the opening provided in the earth, means connected with the running gear tor n'ioving said hinged chute to steady the plant immediatelyafter it has been placed in the earth opening and While the frame is in a continued movement away from said piant, means tor con'ipressing the earth about the roots of the plant which is beingso steadied during the period which it is steadied, and means for ejecting a quantity of Water into the earth about the roots of the plant.

ELLEY A. STQCKER. WILLIAM S. STOCKER. 

